A Wichita, Kansas aircraft component company
has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $132,500 to the United States
to settle a series of alleged violations of federal hazardous
waste management regulations at its manufacturing facility.

According to a consent agreement and final order filed in Kansas
City, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 staff conducted
an inspection of the Wichita plant in July 2006 and noted a series
of violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA), which regulates the generation, transportation, treatment,
storage, disposal and management of hazardous wastes.

The EPA inspection found that Spirit AeroSystems had offered
hazardous waste for transport without a proper manifest, and
failed to perform hazardous waste determinations on primer-coated
machine residue, industrial wastewater sludge and chromium primer
spillage.

The inspection further found that the company was operating as
a hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility without
a RCRA permit by having an inadequate secondary containment system
for its hazardous waste tanks, failing to maintain the facility
to minimize the possibility of fire, failing to properly close
and/or date accumulation and storage containers of hazardous
waste, failing to maintain an adequate contingency plan, and
failing to provide and document hazardous waste training for
its employees.

As part of the settlement, Spirit AeroSystems has certified that
its Wichita facility is now in full compliance with RCRA and
its regulations.